SATURN (Syllabus GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: In March 2025, the majestic rings of Saturn will appear to “disappear” from view, offering a rare and stunning spectacle in the Solar System.

Saturn

• About: It is the sixth planet from the Sun, and the second largest in the solar system. It’s surrounded by rings.
• Composition: It is made up of 94% hydrogen, 6% helium and small amounts of methane and ammonia.
• Size: With an equatorial diameter of about 120,500 kilometers, Saturn is 9 times wider than Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Saturn would be about as big as a volleyball.
• Distance: From an average distance of 1.4 billion kilometers, Saturn is 9.5 astronomical units away from the Sun. 

o One astronomical unit, is the distance from the Sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 80 minutes to travel from the Sun to Saturn.

• Orbit: Saturn has the second-shortest day in the solar system. One day on Saturn takes only 10.7 hours, and Saturn makes a complete orbit around the Sun in about 29.4 Earth years (10,756 Earth days).
• Rotation: Its axis is tilted by 26.73 degrees with respect to its orbit around the Sun, which is similar to Earth's 23.5-degree tilt. This means that, like Earth, Saturn experiences seasons.

Saturn's Rings Optical Illusion

• Rings' Perception: It is not as if the rings will cease to exist. Their “disappearance” when viewed from Earth will be an optical illusion.
• Rings' Orientation Change: Saturn’s rings are tilted at the same angle as the planet. As Saturn revolves around the Sun, the orientation of its rings changes from Earth's perspective.
• Alignment with Earth: Every 13 to 15 years, Saturn’s rings align edge-on with Earth. This alignment, occurring in March 2025, will make the rings appear as thin lines, reflecting minimal light and making them nearly invisible.
• Previous Occurrence: This phenomenon of Saturn's rings appearing edge-on last occurred in 2009.